Top 5 Projects of the Week: Making the Most of Your Hallway to a Family Home Full of Monochrome Magic

This will be our last Top 5 until the new year so it's with pleasure we can reveal it's a good one to end 2015.

If you're new here, then welcome! The homify Top 5 is our regular Sunday morning look back at what’s been generating the most clicks, Likes and shares over the last seven days.

We’ll have a second look at a remarkably popular feature on home organisation, in particular, making the most of your hallway. We also revisit four very interesting British projects including a family home extension and new build in North Devon.

See you again in 2016!

1. Make the Most of Your Hallway

Innovative storage solutions.

Far and away our most read article this week was about making the most of your home's hallway. The feature included the ingenious solution to home organisation by Chasewood Furniture, which you can see pictured. It led to a lot comments of on our Facebook page with people asking partners and friends if something similar could be done in their home. We'd really like to see photos if any of you have something similar!

We love this neat solution, which showcases pull out shoe and coat storage that has been created in the space under the stairs. Blink and you could miss the subtle handles that might give you a clue that this is in place, but when opened up, the true genius of the design is revealed.

2. A Family Home Extension Masterpiece

Front Elevation—Before

Once again, for the second consecutive week, our second most read article was this before and after project, proving how interested people are in the wonderful effect adding an extension to a home can have.

In the past we've seen some fabulous ways that semi-detached family houses have been extended to offer valuable extra space but this example is one of the best. The design team began with a sizeable home that had some elements that were dating the façade and sought to simultaneously modernise and improve the overall look of the property, while also adding a wealth of light and airy extra internal space that would be able to comfortably accommodate the whole family. The rear of the house wasn't forgotten though, and several impressive additions were completed, which totally transformed this amazing home.

Creating totally bespoke homes that are both modern, new and yet have a heritage feel and nostalgic appeal is not an easy task, but one that the design team at Roundhouse have leapt on with a tenacity and fervour for their Ecclesgreig Gardens project.

We love that natural materials have a vital role to play and as such, stone and slate have been used in volume to work alongside traditional elements such as sash windows and space-giving dormers. Even the external garden walls have been given the rustic touch, having been created from chunky stonework blocks. The interiors are a light and airy delight, designed to contrast with the rugged materials of the exteriors to provide a warm, inviting and happy space that is family-friendly and aesthetically stunning.

4. Family Home Heaven in Devon

Church Mews, Hartland, Devon

There was a lot of interest in our feature on this stylish and functional family home in North Devon. Church Mews was previously the location of a timber-framed church that had been left to fall into disrepair, which provided an ideal and picturesque location for a wonderful series of new homes. The team at The Bazeley Partnership have clearly been careful to take into account what materials could be sourced locally, at the design stage and this loving attention to detail shows from every angle.

5. A Family Home Full of Monochrome Magic

Snowdrop Lodge, Beach Road, St. Cyrus, Aberdeenshire

Taking the bow before the curtains close this week is A Family Home Full of Monochrome Magic, and it's easy to why. Stylish design, traditional values and a breathtakingly bold interior are just a few of the things that this stunning home offers and when you combine them altogether, the end result is a house that is as cohesive as it is different and lovely as it is traditional looking.

While adding new portions onto existing buildings has become extremely common in recent years, we are always on the lookout for homes that demonstrate a sympathetic approach or a way of grafting new sections on that don’t detract from the beauty and grace of the original building. We are extremely thankful to have found one such property, which manages to make traditional design and stark monochrome the best of friends.